Christian Movie Connect was honored with an iPDb sponsored podcast award at the Stellae Awards, held at the 2014 Pan Pacific Film Festival (PPFF) in Los Angeles, CA on July 24th. CMC was the first recipient of the Excellence in Podcasting Award which was presented on stage to CMCs producer and host Cheryl Ariaz Wicker. The 6th Annual Pan Pacific Film Festival, touted as the largest Christian film festival, featured 35 hours of movies, 24 hours of workshops, 11 hours of music and 16 awards over a period of three days. The Stellae Awards were hosted by actress Jenn Gotzon and Dr. Drake Travis.

This is a huge honor and a tremendous validation of the work that we do," says CMC founder Cheryl Ariaz Wicker. As a film producer myself, I know how important publicity is to films of any genre. My passion is faith-based, family friendly and redemptive films and I love being a small part of promoting these films to those who love this type of entertainment. There are so many dedicated professionals who have stood with me to bring CMC to this point and I am eternally grateful to them all!

This podcast award was given to acknowledge the field of podcasting and its effect on the family/faith genre. The nominated podcasts were required to engage their audience in voting at the IPDb website. There is something quite endearing and personal about the podcast format because it is effective in engaging an audience. I hope that more podcasts will be launched to promote positive content," stated Serena Travis, iPDd founder. It was great to see Cheryl at work doing what she does best at PPFF. I'm especially impressed with the CMC followersthey rallied behind Cheryl in an amazing way!"

CMC celebrated its third anniversary a few days after receiving this award. In the past three years, CMC has become known for interviewing the movers and shakers in the faith-based film industry and has traveled from coast to coast interviewing the personalities behind the movies. CMCs venues include the NRB Convention, Biola Media Conference, Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival, ICVM Catalyst Conference, CWIMA National Conference, and the PPFF, as well as movie premieres, set visits and other Christian media events.

Aside from the CMC podcasts and blogs, Cheryl also writes for Examiner.com as National Christian Movies and owns PR agency, Premier1 Studios. She is also an award winning film producer, known for Flag of my Father starring John Schneider and William Devane and has worked with Pure Flix Entertainment on Gods Not Dead, TV movie, Finding Normal starring Candace Cameron Bure and the upcoming theatrical release Dancer and the Dame starring Billy Gardell.

To view the CMC podcast or for more information about CMC, go to http://www.christianmovieconnect.com. For more information on iPDb, go to ipdb.net. For more information about PPFF, go to ippff.com. To view the CMC blog with photos from the Stellae Awards, a thank you list for the CMC team, and a soon coming video link to the Stellae Awards ceremony, click here.

ABOUT CHRISTIAN MOVIE CONNECT:

Christian Movie Connect (CMC) is an interview podcast venue that showcases the major voices in Christian movies. Hosted by media personality Cheryl Ariaz Wicker, CMC interviews Christian filmmakers, actors, screenwriters and other Christian film industry newsmakers in the country and worldwide.

ABOUT CHERYL ARIAZ WICKER:

Cheryl Ariaz Wicker is an award winning film producer, media personality and Christian publicist, having worked in media for over 16 years. She owns Premier1 Studios, an entertainment media and marketing company specializing in the faith market. Wicker is also known in Christian entertainment circles as the National Christian Movies Examiner as well as host of the video podcast Christian Movie Connect. She produced "Flag of My Father and has worked with Pure Flix Entertainment on "Finding Normal," "God's Not Dead," and "Dancer and the Dame."